Fearless
by EagleDaydream
Summary: Beginning at the inn at the Thunder Plains, Auron is learning to deal with Rikku, and Rikku is learning to deal with Auron. Needless to say, not everything is blissfully wonderful. But exactly how long will this take? Aurikku fic. R&R makes authors happy.
1. Chapter 1

(Fearless)  
  
[A/N: Oo! An unexpected FFX fic! While I was boredly wandering around my room, I decided that I should write a fic. Some fic. Any fic. And I figured 'cause I've been promising this for a while now, I'd might as well get it started. So now, none of the characters in this story belong to me. I wish they did, though. The dialogue of some of the characters may be changed, but it's nothing AU. This will follow the same general plot and line of events-- starting at everyone's favorite place.. the inn at the Thunder Plains. -- PAIRING: Aurikku. You don't need to read this if you don't approve of the pairing. Otherwise, enjoy! ]  
  
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Chapter 1  
  
"Ugh."  
Stifled screams sounded throughout the agency each time a flash of lightning and a rumble of thunder erupted. Rikku cowered in a corner of the room, shivering and shielding her eyes. An annoyed Auron rolled his eyes as the girl.  
"How long are you going to stay like that?" he asked in a peeved tone.  
Rikku let out a quiet whimper, and Lulu stepped forward, letting out a dramatic sigh.  
"Auron, give the girl a break," she scolded.  
Auron let out a bit of a grunt before turning his back and walking toward the shopkeeper to busy himself in stocking up on items, whether he really needed them or not.  
"W-why does he have to be such a--"  
CRACK.  
"EEE!"  
Silence.  
"-- meanie?" Rikku finished.  
Lulu let out a small laugh and shook her head.  
"It's in his nature," she began, crouching down beside Rikku. "He's a stoic warrior, you see- he's just not used to.. fear.. I guess," she finished, her tone growing a little uncertain.  
"No fear," Rikku whimpered out. "He's GOTTA be afraid of--"  
CRACK.  
"-- mm- something."  
Lulu glanced back at the red-clad man who was giving a handful of gil to the shopkeeper.  
"Well," she began somewhat melodramatically, "good luck finding out what it is."  
CRACK.  
Rikku let out a rather subdued whimper instead of a full shriek, but the others looked at her with concern, except Auron.  
"Perhaps we should stay for the night," Yuna spoke up rather timidly from the corner. "I'm.. a bit tired."  
There were nods of agreement throughout the room, with Rikku's being the most enthusiastic of them. With that, Yuna headed off into the corridor.  
Rikku stood up slowly and cautiously, her green eyes searching the room quite frantically. She spun on her heel and took off after Yuna. However, she was stopped short when Auron grasped her wrist before she headed into the corridor.  
"This storm never stops," he warned.  
Almost as though it was on cue, a bright light flashed and a thunder roll followed. Rikku let out a yelp and snapped her eyes shut. After a few seconds of silence, she opened her eyes slowly and looked back at the man.  
"I know," she said nervously, "but just give me this night. So I can.. prepare. I'm new at this stuff, remember?"  
Auron let out a quiet sigh, but gave an almost forced nod at the girl. Still, Rikku could see the faintest trace of a smile on his face.  
So much for the stoic warrior. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
Managing to have developed an effective method of quieting her screeches that proceded every strike of lighting and roar of thunder, Rikku didn't end up accumulating much sleep at all. She stared at the designs on the sheets of her bed, with tired, glossy eyes. Her shaky fingers traced over the lightning bolts and grey clouds that made up the artistic design. Figures of posing cactaurs were sewn on the fluffy pillows on the bed, but Rikku couldn't bring herself to rest her head against them.  
She let out a shaky sigh as she rolled over onto her back. She could see the sleeping forms of both Yuna and Lulu on either side of her. It was a wonder that they managed to get to sleep with her constant whimpering.  
But then it hit her.  
Rikku hadn't heard anymore rolls of thunder, and she didn't catch and quick glimpses of lightning.  
Did the storm stop? Was that even possible?  
Biting her lip and taking in a quick gasp of breath, Rikku tossed the covers off, swung her legs over the bed's edge, and rose to her feet. She cautiously skittered out to the corridor, opening and closing the door of her room as quietly as possible. She took a few more steps down the hallway before--  
CRACK!  
A huge roar of thunder sounded through the building, causing Rikku to drop to her knees while letting out a piercing scream.  
There was an instant commotion, and the others came poling out of their rooms frantically. Tidus and Wakka were the first two to appear in the hallway.  
Tidus gasped out, "Rikku! Are you okay?"  
Wakka nodded and looked at the girl concernedly. Lulu and Yuna entered the corridor next. Yuna leaned over by Rikku with a rather scared expression on her face. Auron and Kimahri stepped out into the hall next. They looked onto the scene carefully, but neither of them uttered a word.  
"Rikku," Lulu began quietly, "what happened?"  
"The- the--"  
"Let me guess," Auron grumbled, "thunder?"  
Rikku simply nodded and buried her head in her hands with embarrassment. "It was pretty loud this time, ya?" Wakka offered.  
The majority of the others nodded in agreement.  
"Rikku, you gonna be alright?" Tidus asked with genuine concern.  
She looked back at Tidus and nodded.  
"Yeah," she nodded cautiously, "yeah, I will. Sorry that I woke you all up."  
Yuna patted Rikku on the back and headed back to the room along with Lulu. The others slowly returned to their rooms, as well. All except one.  
Lightning flashed and thunder rolls again, and Rikku let out a strangled whimper. She quickly heaved herself back up to her feet, and whirled around. She gasped when she found herself standing face-to-face with Auron.  
"Auron," she sighed, "I'm sorry. But.. but tell me! Tell me that even you have a fear! Even you!"  
"Hm," he muttered.  
As Auron turned away and headed back to his room, Rikku hung her head in defeat and tromped back to her bed.  
  
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[ A/N: So, did you all like it so far? There's much more to come, as well. So, review if you liked it! Hell, review if you didn't like it, and tell me what I can do to fix it. Thanks a bunch! ^_^ ] 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
[Disclaimer: A bit of the dialogue from this chapter was taken right from the script of FFX, so I don't claim to own it. These parts are: Starting with "It's not stopping, is it?" until "I'm not scared, you hear?" both said by Rikku. Just so y'know. Now, enjoy!]  
  
Rikku's eyes opened slowly as she was stirred from her sleep, focusing in on the figure standing in front of her. It was Yuna, well awake and ready to go. Rikku glanced around the room, which was as dark at it had been earlier.  
  
"Doesn't the sun ever shine in this place?" Rikku asked groggily, pushing herself up and rubbing her eyes.  
"It's always too cloudy," Yuna replied rather distantly.  
Looking up with concern, Rikku stared at Yuna for a moment before speaking up.  
"You okay, Yunie?"  
"Yes," she nodded firmly, "I'm fine."  
Rikku gave Yuna a considering glance, which was easily readable. She didn't believe her cousin, plain and simple, and she KNEW it had something to do with meeting up with Seymour yesterday; the meeting that turned into a marriage proposal.  
Yuna stepped away and headed out of the room without another word, and Rikku shook her head. She didn't like that Seymour was causing Yuna to act so awkwardly, which in turn caused all the guardians to be a little less at ease.  
Rikku stood up in front of her bed and fixed up her hair rather absently. Lulu was missing from the room, as well, she noticed- probably waiting for her along with the rest of the guardians.  
Rikku heard a knock at the door that was left slightly ajar. She walked over to it and opened the door fully, and found herself once again standing face-to-face with Auron. A slight blush formed over Rikku's cheeks as she looked down, rather embarrassed for some reason.  
"Are you ready?" he asked plainly.  
Rikku's eyes traced back up to the quiet man, and she nodded.  
"Yep!" she exclaimed, with a false confidence restored to her voice.  
CRACK!  
Rikku huddled down a bit and let out a small whimper.  
"Not this again," Auron sighed quietly. "We're almost out of here. Come on."  
"Damn this lightning," Rikku mumbled.  
Auron turned away from the door, and Rikku quickly followed after him, heading down the hall to meet the other guardians. They all assembled in the main room of the agency, Rikku taking an empty spot and standing next to Lulu.  
"We'll continue onto the Macalania Temple, now," Yuna said quietly. "I hope that Maester Seymour isn't too upset that I waited a day."  
"Seymour can wait until you're ready," Tidus commented in a rather annoyed voice.  
"It's obvious that Tidus doesn't like Maester Seymour," Lulu whispered to Rikku.  
A smirk formed over Rikku's face.  
"Does he even try to hide it?" she whispered back.  
"I don't think so, but if he did, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference," Lulu chuckled.  
A rumble of thunder echoed in the distance, but no crack of lightning followed it. Rikku looked around the room cautiously.  
"It's not stopping, is it?" she asked timidly.  
"Don't tell me you were hoping it would," Auron commented.  
The crack of lightning that never occurred after the thunder finally came, causing Rikku to shriek and snap her eyes shut again.  
"Fine. Stay here," Auron said dryly, and walked out of the building.  
Rikku opened her eyes and stomped a foot against the floor.  
"Alright already! But you didn't have to say it like that, you know! You could be more comforting or something! You know, try to cheer me up? You just don't get me at all, do you? Hey, are you listening?"  
CRACK!  
Rikku huddled, but wouldn't allow another terrified shriek escape from her mouth. She stood up again, and narrowed her eyes.  
"I'm not scared!" she proclaimed. "I'm not scared, you hear?"  
The party began exiting the agency, filing out onto the Thunder Plains once again, where the storm swept on. The started out on the other half of the Plains, dodging lightning furiously and moving along as quickly as possible, if only for Rikku's sake, at least.  
Near the edge of the Plains, Yuna stopped the group, a serious expression set on her face. She had everyone ushered under a lightning rod so they wouldn't be struck as they stopped to talk, and she informed the group that she decided to accept Seymour's marriage proposal. The guardians felt rather helpless about the situation, with Auron satisfied as long as Yuna would still continue on her pilgrimage, and Tidus simply upset at the whole idea. The whole discussion was quite a blur, with Rikku's thoughts wandering a bit, since they were so close to escaping the dreadful place. Her cousin was going to get married to a rather shady character, and she couldn't do anything about it, all in the midst of her frustration with trying to fit into the group without being a complete annoyance. This was all just wonderful.  
The group continued on through the Plains, and Rikku stayed rather huddled up, until they reached the entrance of the Macalania Forest. As they all set foot on the firm, forest ground, and the air seemed to suddenly become less thick, Rikku realized that there was no more thunder or lightning. She stopped walking, and stood up straight once again, as most of the group walked past her.  
Silence. Not a crack of lightning or a roar of thunder rumbling through the sky!  
A big smile crossed Rikku's face, and she jumped into the air happily. She heard a slight, low chuckle coming from behind her, and out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Auron looking at her with a trace of a smile on his face.  
Best to pretend she didn't hear it. Rikku ran off to join the others, in a significantly better mood than before.  
  
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[ A/N: Hope you liked the new chapter. ^_^ Not much /obvious/ has happened yet to REALLY spur on the Aurikku romance to this story, but don't worry. Things like these take time. XD I apologize if this chapter was a bit uneventful, but trust me, things will get better. I just needed to get them out of that place so I can continue with the rest of the story. So, R&R if you liked! And much thanks to my reviewers so far: jackie, ShadowCatLeader, YourAngelStandingBy, azn-saphirestar, and berry-berry. :D ] 


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